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Milan Academy

One of AC Milan’s main aims is to spread and promote football around the world. This objective is not only due to the Rossoneri’s love of the game but above all in order to help convey football’s most authentic values to young people, namely integrity, respect, being a team player and having fun. That’s why AC Milan created Milan Academy 17 years ago, especially for boys and girls aged 16 and under. Milan Academy is part of the affiliated football schools network both in Italy and abroad and the running of Milan Junior Camps, the Club’s official summer holiday packages.

Below is a list of some of the initiatives which best illustrate the work done by Milan Academy and their efforts to promote the importance of fair play in sport.

Soccer Schools

2013/2014

2014/2015

2015/2016

Soccer Schools around the world

17

18

16

Soccer Schools in Italy

86

86

86

Soccer Schools with girls’ teams

3

3

8

Coaches involved in Milan Academy Soccer Schools

1,550

1,100

1,540

Children involved in Milan Academy Soccer Schools

25,750

31,500

29,600

Italian regions with Milan Academy Soccer Schools

-

-

18

Foreign countries with Milan Academy Soccer Schools

-

-

16

Players enrolled at Milan Academy camps

-

-

8,123

Weeks of courses at Milan Academy camps

-

-

166

Towns involved in Milan Academy camps

-

-

114

Countries involved in Milan Academy camps

-

-

28

Italian regions involved in Milan Academy camps

-

-

15

Milan Academy organisers

25

25

34

Milan Junior Camp Day

Kids from all over the world who attended Milan Junior Camps the previous summer were the stars of the 16th edition of Milan Junior Camp Day.

On 19 and 20 March 2016, more than 300 footballers who took part in 2015 summer camps were invited to the Vismara training ground for a Rossoneri weekend of fun. The participants, who all shared a love of football, travelled to Milan from 34 countries, creating a real melting pot of cultures. The two days featured friendly tournaments with mixed teams at the youth academy headquarters, involving kids from the 2001-02 and 2005-06 age groups. Milan Junior Camp Day was a unique and exciting experience for all those involved. Besides playing matches, the participants also visited Rossoneri headquarters and attended AC Milan v Lazio, with a special lap around the San Siro pitch at half time. All of the players swore an oath to fair play at the start of each day of the tournament. MJC Day is all about having fun in an international setting, whilst reinforcing the aims of Milan Academy, such as multicultural integration and development through sport.

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316

OVERALL PARTICIPANTS

﻿

103

PARTICIPANTS FROM THE 2001-02 AGE GROUP

﻿

213

PARTICIPANTS FROM THE 2005-06 AGE GROUP

The kids were selected by AC Milan coaches from the 8,000+ MJC 2015 participants from all over the world.

“It was absolutely fantastic. Owen has sometimes lacked a bit of confidence, and used to think he was rubbish at football. This whole thing – being selected and then going out there – has given him a massive confidence boost. It was a dream come true for him, because he can’t get enough of football. The coaches out there were brilliant and very passionate about the children. He loved every minute of it in Milan, especially the tournament, when he was playing alongside children from all over the world, including Peru, Germany and Sweden. It was fantastic.”(Emilie–parent)

BPM Milan Cup

The BPM Milan Cup is the end-of-season tournament for the 80+ AC Milan Soccer Schools based all over Italy.

All of the participants have the chance to celebrate the end of the football season with three days of football in the spirit of fair play at the home of the AC Milan youth academy.

92 teams from six age groups – from the 03s to the 08s – took part in the 2016 edition, which ran from 16 to 19 June.

Sport wasn’t the only item on the agenda. The Training School also ran a series of meetings on promoting sporting culture for the youngsters and all of the adult figures involved in their lives (parents, coaches and Club officials).

The BPM Milan Cup is therefore a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the joy, passion and emotion of sport.

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1,700

PARTICIPANTS

﻿

92

TEAMS

﻿

6

AGE GROUPS

AGE GROUPS

AGE

NO. TEAMS

Piccoli amici 2008

8

16

Pulcini 2007

9

16

Pulcini 2006

10

16

Pulcini 2005

11

16

Esordienti 2004

12

16

Esordienti 2003

13

12

﻿

37

MILAN SOCCER SCHOOLS REPRESENTED

﻿

380

MATCHES PLAYED

﻿

OVER 10,000

TOTAL MINUTES PLAYED

﻿

184

COACHES

On top of the projects and events held in Italy, the activities run in partnership with AC Milan Soccer Schools abroad are also crucial. The Soccer Schools, which are located in nine different countries around the world, are important geographical sites in terms of sport, education and the impact they have in society.

Below is a list of experiences and testimonials of work done at a local level.

The project involves meetings at nurseries in the area where the Soccer School operates, teaching Italian culture and motor skills. Both activities are age appropriate for the participants.

During a meeting in each nursery, the Milan Academy coach, supported by local AC Milan Soccer School staff, explains to the children how their Italian peers live in Italy and lists the main differences, from language and money to housing, food and even the noises animals make. The children are also taught a few words of Italian during the presentation (the colours of the Italian flag, numbers and the sounds made by a few animals which differ between the two languages). This is all done along with motor skills games using a football.

The project was launched in March 2014 and, thanks to its success, it is now sponsored by Komaki city council. Over the course of the academic year, it will work with 29 nurseries in the city of Komaki and some institutions from nearby Nagoya. 56 meetings have been held thus far, involving more than 2,000 children in their final year of nursery. The project will also be expanded to the other AC Milan Soccer Schools in Japan.

The project aims to actively involve girls and young women aged 7-17 in a country where they have traditionally found it hard to play sport.

Launched in 2014 at the AC Milan Soccer School in Kuwait, the specially designed courses for girls now involve more than 40 participants across various age groups. Besides the technical and methodological aspects on the pitch, a strong focus is placed on the role of women. The girls are able to train in dedicated facilities and the teams are coached by the Milan Academy coach, who is always supported by a female colleague in order to create the best possible learning environment with suitable role models.

The AC Milan Soccer School is the country’s first women’s football school and has been praised by local institutions and the media. The teams also take part in international tournaments in Italy, where they secured some excellent results on the pitch, while the trips have proved to be great life experiences for the girls involved.

Inclusion is one of the objectives that AC Milan work towards with their activities for youngsters. It’s not only about inclusion on the pitch (giving greater access to sport for those who, for various reasons, can’t play it) but also social inclusion (fostering development and sharing).

That’s why AC Milan took part in the Special Adventure Camp, a tournament aimed at disabled and non-disabled teenagers aged 14-18. Eight teams took part in the camp held in the Swiss canton of Schwyz – four international sides (AC Milan, Manchester City, Chelsea FC and ZHO Abu Dhabi) and four local clubs

AC Milan’s involvement was made possible thanks to a partnership with the Lombardy Special Olympics team. The Rossoneri players were selected from football clubs that are signed up to this international movement, which promotes inclusion and a key role in society for people with intellectual disabilities via sport and motor skills activities.

The players came up against each other on the pitch, not only during matches, but also in training sessions which were run on rotation by opposition coaches with mixed groups from different teams. Setting up the activities in this way helped to foster socialising and inclusion among the kids who came into contact with different cultures and were able to try out new training methods. The players were therefore able to improve tactically and in terms of their motor skills, whilst developing their people skills and a positive attitude towards themselves and others. In particular, thanks to mixed activities it was easy to reinforce sporting values such as teamwork, respecting the rules and one’s team-mates, and self-confidence.

Training seminars were run for the coaches in attendance in order for them to share and learn new methods for coaching disabled youngsters. The camp programme was further bolstered by open meetings with the local community to raise awareness of the role sport plays in creating genuine opportunities for integration. Once again football has proven to be an excellent means of integration and inclusion for all.

The camp was organised by the Football is More Foundation, which is committed to promoting projects that use the power of football to meet the needs of young people living in particularly precarious situations, not only in terms of physical well-being but also for economic and social reasons.